Coin-controlled lock.



R, D. KING.

COIN CO APPLICATION man JUNE 2.!915.

NTROLLED LOCK.

Patented Nov. 5, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

(5w QMWW.

R. D. KING.

com CONTROLLED LOCK. I

APPLlCATiON FILED JUNE 2,1916

lut'cnmlNov. 5, 1918.

R. D. KING.

COIN CONTROLLED LOCK.

APPLICATION FILED 113152. 1916.

ilzlttvnfed Nov. 5, 1918.

a SHEETS-SHEET 3.

. ROY D. KING,'OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T COIN CONTROLLED LOCK COMPANY,

OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

COIN-CONTROLLED LOCK Application filed June 2, 1916.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ROY D. KING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chlcago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coin-Controlled Locks, of which the following is a specification.

' This invention relates in general to locks,

and has more particular reference to coincontrolled locks, for use on parcel lockers and in similar places where it is necessary to deposit a coin in the lock before the lock can be operated. In this type of lock the user after depositing his coin and. locking the lock withdraws the key and carries it with him as his check until such time as he desires to reopen the locker or container. The lock is then unlocked by means of the key which, upon unlocking movement of the lock, becomes automatically engaged therein so that it cannot be again withdrawn until another coin has been deposited and the lock locked.

One of the primary objects of my present invention is to provide a coin-controlled lock of this general character which will be simple in construction and positive and certain in its operation.

Another object is to provide a lock which can only be operated by a coin of a predetermined size, but which will permit the passage therethrough of coins or slugs of smaller size, and when the lock is locked will prevent the deposit of another coin therein.

Still another object of my invention is to provide improved means for positively operating upon a coin deposited in the look so that the mechanisms which normally pre vent locking movement of the lock will be positively actuated by the coin, after which the coin will be positively ejected from the lock.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of my invention will be readily appreciated as the same is better understood by' reference to the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Referring to the drawings-- Figure 1 is a rear elevation of a lock embodying my invention;

Fig. 2' is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the lock, cer- Speciflcation of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 5, 111%..

Serial No. 101,212.

tain of the parts being removed or broken away to more clearly show the parts behind;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view showing some of the parts shown in Fig. 3 in the position which they assume upon insertion of a key in the lock;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the indicator disks and the operating mechanisms therethrough;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view through the center of the key-cylinder;

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view on the line -7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a detail perspective View of the cylinder with the tumblers removed; and

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of one of the tumblers.

On the drawings reference character 11 indicates generally the front or case of the lock, preferably formed of heavy sheet metal and upon which the operating mechanismsare carried. A housing or frame 12, secured to the rear face of the casing by bolts 13 or otherwise, forms a bearing support for the key-cylinder 14:, the detail construction of which, and the tumblers mounted therein, will be later described, the cylinder being adapted to be oscillated in the housing by means of a key 15. A locking bolt 16, guided at one end in an aperture 17 formed in a rearwardly projecting flange 18 of the casing, is pivotally connected by a pin 19 to an arm 21 rigidly attached to the key-cylinder intermediate its ends, and by which said bolt is projected or retracted upon oscillatory movements of the cylinder.

Beneath the cylinder the front of the easing is provided with a coin-receiving aperture 22 through which a coin is deposited in the lock in a coin-chute 23 formed by a piece of metal secured to the rear face of the easing. At the lower end the member forming the back of the chute is cated at 2 4 on each side, face of this member there is pivoted at 26 a pair of members 27 and 28, respectively, having their lower ends inturned as indicated at 29 and projecting across the edges of the chutes in the cut-away portions thereof, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The member cut away as indiand upon the rear 27 is provided with a laterally projecting arm 31 and the member 28 is provided with a similar arm 32, the two arms being yieldingly connected together by a tension spring 33 which yieldingly urges the inturned ends ofsaid arms into the position shown in Fig.

1. The ends of the members are spacedapart a distance slightly less than the diameter of the coin 34 for which the lock is designed, so that when a coin of this size is deposited in the coin-chute through the opening 22 it will be sustained by these inturned ends 29 in the position shown in Fig. 1, while smaller coins will drop through.

An ejector slidingly mounted in the coin-chute has an upwardly extending portion 36 which is pivotally connected at 37 with an arm 38 rigidly attached to the keycylinder 14, so that as the cylinder is oscillated the ejector is moved up and down in the coin-chute. The lower end of the ejector is bifurcated and shaped to present diverging coin-engaging surfaces 39 as shown in 'Fig. 3. The rear wall 23 of the coin-chute is formed to rovide a central boss or pro- 'jection 41 which the bifurcated ends of the ejector straddle when the ejector is in its the. members 27 and 28 initial downward movement of the ejector, effected by turning the key-cylinder, will cause the ejector to move toward the casing wall over and into alinement with the coin. It will be obvious that this movement will be caused by. the projection41 which moves the ejector from the position shown in Fig. 2 to a position against the rear face of the casing 11 and into alinement with the deposited coin 34. Continued downward movement of the ejector will force the coin out between the members 27 and 28, the lower ends of which separate under the thrust of the coin against the force of the spring 33. This se aration of the lower ends of the members 2 and 28 brings their up er ends, which normally ex-- that when the ejector is in lowered position' it lies close against the rear face of the casing 11 thereby covering the opening 22 and.

reventing the insertion of another coin so ong asthe lock remains in locked position. Upon therear face of the ejector 35, above the coin-chute, there is mounted a rearwardly projecting abutment member 43 prov'ided wlth an opening 44 disposed in axial alinement with a median line drawn longitudinally through the pivoted members 27 and 28. When these members are in their normal position, as shown in Fig. 1, their upper ends are separated sufiiciently to prevent their entrance into the opening 44 when the ejector is depressed. Normally, therefore, if an attempt is made to lock the look by turning the key without depositing a coin in the slot the ejector will move downwardly until this abutment 43 engages the upper ends of the members 27 and 28 which will prevent further locking movement of the lock. If a coin is deposited in the coin slot however, initial downward movement f the ejector will force the coin between the inturned ends 29 of the members 27 and 28 as previously described, thereby rocking the members on their pivot to overlap their upper ends so that these overlapped ends will pass through the opening 44 upon downward movement. of the ejector, thereby permitting a full operative locking stroke of the lock. The position of the )arts with the upper ends of the members 2 and 28 projecting through the abutment 43 when the lock is in locked osition is shown in Fig. 3. After withdrawa of the key the lock is of course maintained in locked position by the tumblers in the key-cylinder 14 in a manner which will be later described.

For the purpose of normally but yieldingly maintaining the parts in unlocked position I have provided a tractile spring 45 secured at its upper end to a pin 46 fixed in the housing 12 and attached at its lower end to a finger 47 pivoted at 48 to the lower end of the housing 12 and extending beneath a projection 49 on the abutment member 43. The spring 45, operating through the finger 47, normally tends to elevate the ejector, thereby urging the lock mechanism into unlocked position.

It sometimes happens in looks of this general character that the user after locking the lock will, before removing the key accidentally unlock it again. Since the coin which was utilized to effect the locking of the lock has been ejected at the completion of the locking movement it is obvious that the use of this coin has been lost and the customer must deposit another coin in order to lock the look again. With a view to obviating this difficulty I have provided in the present instance a fool proof device which prevents unlocking of the lock until the key has been withdrawn and reinserted therein. This device comprises, generally speaking, a pawl adapted, under certain conditions, to engage with an abutment carried by the key-cylinder and prevent unlocking movement of the cylinder.

This pawl, which is designated generally by reference character 51, comprises a body portion provided with an elongated slot 52.

naeaaoa a tail portion 53, and a finger or beveled end 1 adapted to normally depress the rear end of this pawl so that the pawl assumes the position shown in Fig. 1, as previously stated. The tail 53 of the pawl projects downwardly through a slot in the key-cylinder into the patirof the key 15 when positioned in the cylinder. Assuming that the lock is in unlocked position with the parts disposed as shown in Fig. 1; when the lock is locked by turning the key in a counter-clockwise direction, viewing this figure, and after the deposit of a coin, as previously explained; the shank of the key engages the tail 53 and moves the pawl on its pivot into the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3, in which position the end 54: is disposed beneath the abutment 55 so that reverse rotation of the keycylinder is prevented. The lock cannot be unlocked until the key has been Withdrawn and reinserted to release the pawl. When the key is withdrawn the pawl will be rocked on its pivot by the spring 58 into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, the end 54; of the pawl being still in the path of the abutment 55 so that it acts, in addition to the tumblers, as a preventive against unlocking of the lock. The arm 56 is also provided with an auxiliary abutment 61 which will engage with the end 54: of the pawl and prevent unlocking movement in case the lock has not been completely locked so as to brin the abutment 55 above the end of the paw This construction insures a complete stroke upon the locking movement before the on looking movement can take place. lit will be observed from the position of the pawl 51, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, that when the key has been withdrawn the tail 53 lies directly across the key-way opening so that it will be engaged bythe key when it is inserted. The relnsertion of the key therefore lifts the pawl from the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 to the position shown in Fig. 4, thereby withdrawing the end 54 from the path of travel of the abutments 55 and 61 so that the lock can be turned to unlocked position whereupon the pawl will reassumeits original" position, as shown in Fig. 1.

In order that the'attendant in charge of the lockers or other receptacles upon which these locks are employed may be able to ascertain how many times the lock has been used and therefore 110w many coins should be in the till, I have provided an indicator or recording device which records each operation of the look. This device comprises a pair of concentrically mounted toothed disks 62 and 63, the outer surfaces of which are provided with indicia in the form of letters or figures corresponding in number to the number of teeth on the periphery of the disks. A sight opening 64 is provided in the front wall of the casing through which the characters may be read. Upon the cylinder just back of the disks it have mounted an arm 65 which carries a spring-pawl 66 of suiticient width to engage with the teeth of both disks. The pawl is reciprocated at each oscillation of the key-cylinder a distance sufiicient to move the disks forward one tooth. It will be observed from Fig. 5 that the disk 62 is provided with one deep tooth 67 which will permit the pawl 66 to also engage with a tooth of the disk 63 so that when this tooth 67 is engaged by a pawl both the disks will be simultaneously moved one step. The remaining teeth on the disk 62ers shallower so as to prevent the engagement of the pawl 66 with the disk 63. The disk 62 will therefore be moved by the pawl 66 one step at a time until it has completed a revolution, while the disk 63 will remain stationary. After a complete revolution the tooth 67 is again engaged by the pawl 66 whereupon disk 63 will also be moved forward one step. Suitable spring-pawls 68 and 69 engage with the teeth of both disks to hold the disks against retrograde movement and accidental forward movement.

Thernechanism thus far described may be used in connection with a cylinder and key of any approved construction, such, for instance, as the pin tumbler cylinders commonly employed in what is commercially known as a Yale lock. In Figs. 6 to 9 inclusive T have illustrated, however, in detail a novel and improved key and cylinder tumblers which I prefer to use in this type of lock.

The cylinder let in this instance is pro vided with an elongated slot '21 extending transversely therethrough in which are slidingly arranged a series of disk tumblers 72. The housing 12 is provided above and be neath the bore in which the cylinder 14 is mounted with grooves 73 and 74- adapted to receive the ends of the tumblers 72 whereby the cylinder is held against rotation. Each tumbler is provided with a key-receiving iao aperture 75, the apertures being disposed at diflerent positions longitudinally of the tumblers when their ends are in alinement, as shown in Fig. 6. The key 15 is serrated on both edges, and it will be observed that the corresponding faces on opposite edges are parallel; that is, any point on one edge of' the key is equi-distant from a correspond-.

operation of the tumblers upon either grav ity or springs. In order to facilitate withdrawal and insertion of thevkey the top and bottom edges of the apertures 75 inthe tumblers are beveled or reduced in thickness, as

indicated by reference character 76. This insures easy movement of the key. Furthermore, in order to prevent binding of the tumblers against each other and to insure that they will always be in the proper position when the key is inserted to operative position in the lock, the key is constructed to provide flat tumbler-supporting surfaces disposed at right angles to the axes of the tumblers upon which the tumblers rest when the key is turned. This will be evident from an inspection of Fig. 6, from which it will be seen that every tumbler rests upon a flat surface extending parallel with the longitudinal axis of the key, and these surfaces, while short, are of suflicient length to permit a slight variation in the longitudinal position of'the key without disarranging the tumblers. When the .key is fully inserted to operative position, as shown in Fig. 6, the ends of all the tumblers are withdrawn from the locking grooves 73 and 74 and alined within the perimeter of the cylinder so that the cylinder may be turned within the housing. When the lock is in unlocked position the tumblers will prevent withdrawal of the key, as they are held against longitudinal displacement by the surrounding walls of the housing. When, however, the lock is in locked position the key may readily be withdrawn, since the tumblers will be forced either up or down into the grooves 74 or 73, as the case may be, as the key is withdrawn, and the engagement of the ends of the tumblers in these grooves will prevent turning movement of the cylinder until they have all been realined by reinsertion of the-proper key. In order to insure a positive movement of all of the tumblers upon withdrawal of the key it is provided near its inner end with a tooth 77 which is. longer than any of the other serrations so as to engage with the tumblers in succession and positively move each of them out of alinement with the pe- 'riphery of the cylinder. It should be understood that. the cylinder, tumblers and key above described are capable of use in looks of various types other than coin-controlled locks. and the structural features thereof are claimed in an application filed concurrently herewith.

It is believed that my invention, its mode of operation and many of its advantages will be understood from the foregoing without further description, but it shouldbe obvious that the details of construction illustrated and described may be varied within considerable limits without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim 1. In a lock, the combination of a bolt, key-actuated means for operating said bolt, coin-controlled mechanism including a member pivotally mounted on a stationary pivot for preventing locking of the lock except upon the deposit of a coin therein, and means for rocking said member on its pivot into inoperative position through the instrumentality of a coin upon initial locking movement of said bolt.

2. In a lock, the combination of a bolt, key-actuated means for operating said bolt, coin-controlled mechanism including a pair of concentrically pivoted members adapted to normally prevent locking of the lock, and means movable simultaneously with said bolt for initially moving said member to inoperative position through the intermediary of a coin, and subsequently ejecting said coin from operative relation with said members.

3. In a lock, the combination of a bolt, key-actuated mechanism for operating said bolt, a coin chute, movable mechanism unconnected with said key-actuating mechanism and normally extending into said chute, means movable with said bolt, arranged to be arrested in its movement by said mechanism to prevent locking of the look when there is no coin in the chute, and means also movable with said bolt for operating upon a coin in said chute so as to move said mechanism to inoperative position to thereby permit locking movement of the lock.

4. In a lock, the combination of a bolt, key-actuated mechanism for operatin the same, a coin chute, a pair of yieldingly mounted members normally projecting into i the path of a coin in the chute, a device movable simultaneously with the bolt, arranged to be normallylimited in its movement by said members to thereby prevent locking of' the lock, and means connected with said device for moving said members into inoperative position through the intermediary of a coin to thereby permit locking movement of the bolt. a

5. In a lock, the combination of a bolt, key-actuated means for operating said bolt, a coin-chute, an ejector o erable in said chute, an abutment carried i y said ejector, a member normally disposed across the path of travel of a coin in said chute, said member being normally positioned to prevent locking of the lock by obstructing the movement of said abutment, and a connection beeeasoa tween said ejector and said key-actuated mechanism whereby said ejector is caused to displace said member through the inter- "mediary of a coin and thereby permit the key-actuated mechanism for operating said bolt, a coin-chute, a pair of pivotally mounted members yieldingly connected together and normally projecting into said chute, a device movable simultaneously with the bolt, arranged to abut against said normally positioned members to thereby pre vent locking movementof the bolt, and means for operating upon a coin in said chute, upon initial movement of said key-actuated mechanism to move said members into inoperative position and thereby permit the lock to be locked.

. 7. In alock, the combination of a bolt,

key-actuated mechanism for operating said bolt, a coin-chute, a pair of yieldingly connected pivotally mounted members normally projecting into said chute and a coin ejector provided with an abutment adapted to engage said members whereby the lock is prevented from being moved into locked position in the absence of a coin from said chute, said ejector being adapted to move said members through the intermediary of a coin out of the path of said abutment, thereby permitting the lock to be locked.

8. In a lock, the combination of a bolt,

key-actuated mechanism for operating the same, a moving part operable by said mechanism, a coin-chute, a pair of coaxially mounted yieldingly connected members normally positioned in the path of said moving part of the lock to prevent locking movement of said lock, and an ejector connected to said moving part and. operable, in said chute by said key-actuated mechanism to swing'said members on their pivot through the intermediary of a coin out of the path of said moving part, to thereby permit the lock tofbe locks 9. Ina lock, the combination of a coin chute, a pair of yieldingly mounted opposed members extending into said chute, .an

ejector reciprocable in said chute adapted to separate the opposed portions of sald members b forcing a coin therebetween, a locking bo t, and means for simultaneously moving saidbolt and said ejecton.

l0. Ina lock, the combination of a" coinehute, a pair of pivotally mounted yieldly connected members disposed longidr of said chute on the back side thereof and having their lower ends extending into said chute at opposite sides thereof, an ejector reciprocable in-said chute and having an abutment disposed above the upper ends of said members and provided with an aperture, said members being normally disposed in the path of, travel of said abutment to limit the movement thereof, and means for operating said ejector to force a coin in said chute between the lower ends of said members whereby the upper ends thereof are moved into register with said opening to thereby permit a full stroke of the ejector.

11. In a lock, the combination of a casing provided with a coin-receiving opening, an

coin upon locking movement of said bolt,

said means being adapted to completely cover and close said opening when the lock is in locked position.

13. In a lock, the combination of a casing provided with a coin-receiving opening, a reciprocable coin ejector disposed within said casing, and means forv moving said ejector laterally into position to close said opening upon its ejecting stroke.

14,. In a lock, the combination of. a casin provided with a coinreceiving opening an coin-controlled locking mechanism connected to said casing, said locking mechanism including a locking bolt, a member disposed across said opening, and means for moving the member toward the opening to close the'same upon lock-ing movement of the bolt and away from said opening to un-.

cover the same upon unlocking'movement of said bolt.

15. In a lock, the combination of a casing provided with a coin-receiving opening and coin-controlled locking mechanism connected to said casing, said mechanism including a locking bolt, an ejector, means for moving said' ejector longitudinally. across opening. I HUI D. KING. 

